The investigators looked for associations between prenatal antidepressant use and the likelihood of autism spectrum disorders, as well as other developmental delays, in children from a group of 966 mother-child pairs, who had been enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment, or CHARGE, study.

The results, while confirming previous research, also arrived at an eye-opening new conclusion: The SSRI-autism risk appears to be much greater with boys.

Specifically, the research team determined that male children with autism disorders were almost three times as likely to have experienced prenatal exposure to antidepressants, when compared with boys with normal development. The finding regarding autistic boys was even more pronounced if their exposure to SSRIs occurred during the first trimester of pregnancy, when the developing child’s brain is considered most vulnerable.

To clearly explain the real-world implications of this new research, WND spoke to Adam C. Urato, M.D., a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston and MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham, Mass.

“What is interesting about this study is that they analyzed the effects in boys and girls separately and found that it was the boys who had increased risk of autism spectrum disorder and developmental delays,” Urato told WND. “This finding is exactly what several of the animal studies have predicted – that male offspring have more neurobehavioral injury when exposed to SSRIs during development.”

Urato also makes the point that the reported risk was not small, but very significant: “For autism spectrum disorder in boys, first trimester SSRI exposure was associated with more than a 300 percent increased risk (OR 3.22). For developmental delay (DD) third-trimester SSRI exposure was associated with almost a 500 percent increased risk (OR 4.98).”

Summarizing the research to date, Urato said: “This paper adds to the mounting evidence from animal and human studies that the SSRI antidepressants when used in pregnancy are associated with neurobehavioral changes like autism and developmental delay in the exposed children. These antidepressant drugs are chemical compounds and we need to keep that in mind. From thalidomide to DES to cigarettes, history has taught us that exposing pregnant women to potentially toxic chemicals can lead to disastrous results.”

So, what should pregnant women experiencing depression do?

“Depressed pregnant women should not be ignored,” Urato said. “They need good treatment and care, but the key issue is how to treat them.”

For instance, there is a great deal of scientific evidence, notes Urato, that “non-drug approaches to depression, such as psychotherapy and exercise, are as good or better for the treatment of depression in many women. This fact, along with all of the pregnancy complications associated with SSRIs (for example, miscarriage, birth defects, preterm birth, and long-term problems like autism) should lead us to prioritize and emphasize the non-drug approaches to depression as a first-line approach.”